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It happened when I was exploring myself when I moved out on my own. Went through a pagan phase then I moved on from that and got into more science stuff. My friend actually introduced me to the symphony of science videos on YouTube. Those are bad ass. I started reading the earth chronicles by Zachariah Stitchen. Learned more about aliens and all sorts of random stuff. I found that a god or goddess was just a comforting thought for those who couldn't take responsibility for their own lives and needed something to keep them on track.

My siblings and I were raised Roman Catholic, though I was the only one baptized. Just one year ago (I'm 30 now), I learned why.

*Beware, the next bit of info can be seen as disturbing for some.*

I was born 3 weeks early, and was immediately diagnosed with Spina Bifida and hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). I had surgery at an hour old to fix a literal hole in my back that exposed my spine (a symptom of moderate to severe Spina Bifida). That night as I recovered, the doctors told my parents that I needed a second surgery immediately, to put a shunt in my head to drain the excess fluid away from it into the rest of my body. My mom immediately called her pastor, and they performed my baptism in her recovery room.

When the pastor was finished and had packed up to leave, he leaned toward my mom and whispered 'you know that doesn't count, right? She still needs to be baptized for real within the church walls.' My mom, having been a devout Christian her entire life, crumpled in a heap at this. When the pastor left, my dad saw how devastated she was and said 'no. We're not going back. Emergency baptisms happen all the time, and they're 'legit'. Why the f?!# wasn't this one 'real'?! Inexcusable!'

I remember only a handful of times we actually went to church, and that was because my mom still clung to the idea that my siblings and I 'needed it'. Until I was 8 and questioned the teacher in Sunday school a few too many times. 'Why?' isn't a question they like to hear, I guess. And what 8 year old accepts the answer 'because'?

We were allowed to make our own decisions growing up, and were encouraged to accept offers to attend mass with friends, no matter their religion. Unfortunately, we grew up in a predominantly Christian neighborhood, so we never had the exposure of anything different.

My siblings and I were raised Roman Catholic, though I was the only one baptized. Just one year ago (I'm 30 now), I learned why.

*Beware, the next bit of info can be seen as disturbing for some.*

I was born 3 weeks early, and was immediately diagnosed with Spina Bifida and hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). I had surgery at an hour old to fix a literal hole in my back that exposed my spine (a symptom of moderate to severe Spina Bifida). That night as I recovered, the doctors told my parents that I needed a second surgery immediately, to put a shunt in my head to drain the excess fluid away from it into the rest of my body. My mom immediately called her pastor, and they performed my baptism in her recovery room.

When the pastor was finished and had packed up to leave, he leaned toward my mom and whispered 'you know that doesn't count, right? She still needs to be baptized for real within the church walls.' My mom, having been a devout Christian her entire life, crumpled in a heap at this. When the pastor left, my dad saw how devastated she was and said 'no. We're not going back. Emergency baptisms happen all the time, and they're 'legit'. Why the f?!# wasn't this one 'real'?! Inexcusable!'

I remember only a handful of times we actually went to church, and that was because my mom still clung to the idea that my siblings and I 'needed it'. Until I was 8 and questioned the teacher in Sunday school a few too many times. 'Why?' isn't a question they like to hear, I guess. And what 8 year old accepts the answer 'because'?

We were allowed to make our own decisions growing up, and were encouraged to accept offers to attend mass with friends, no matter their religion. Unfortunately, we grew up in a predominantly Christian neighborhood, so we never had the exposure of anything different.

OMB, that makes me livid (what the priest said to your mom). Grrr!

I can't even imagine how devastated your parents were, especially on top of the stress of having their newborn go through two surgeries.

I suppose there is an upside in that your folks quit going to church regularly and allowed you freedom to explore on your own, but that came at very high emotional cost for them.

Atheist Mama? Join us!

How paramount the future is to the present when one is surrounded by children. Charles Darwin

First off... Christian ideals go against human nature. Why would God create us as sinfully driven creatures and expect us to go against our instincts? Why would he create us with a thirst for knowledge, but expect us to follow this religion so blindly and ignore any factual evidence, or lack there of?

I was raised pretty lax as a Christian, so only recently in my adult life have I taken initiative to study the bible. Leviticus. From the very beginning, the bible drills fear into our hearts. Fear makes us vulnerable. Our God is an angry, jealous God who is not one to be tested. As the bible progresses, the fear in turn is conditioned into love and protection. The back and forth contradictions reflect that of a cycle of abuse. I ultimately feel a sense of distrust after dissecting the psychology of the bible, and the pattern of fear and love coincide with brainwashing.

Everything always works out for me. I am blessed. I have had the last rites performed over me & the doctors have no scientific explanation for why I lived (I had meningitis long before it was a thing). Back when I was agnostic, I used to pray that god would take some of my good fortune and give it to the people I love (specifically, my best friends). The next day, I would ace a test I didn't know I had, & my bestie would have her wrist broken by a mugger.

So, either there was no god, or god was someone unworthy or my acknowledgment. Even the most broad skimming of the bible enforces that belief. If man actually did ony transcribe/paraphrase the bible as dictated by god, then god is a singular, conceited piece of garbage, not worthy of the breath it takes to speak the word.

I grew up in a super religious house. we had to go every sunday and wednesday. i always tried to believe bc ya know, hell is scary when your a kid lol. I finally realized it couldnt possibly be true after i lost a very good friend at 18. he was atheist and a very good person. i knew that if someone so good would go to hell bc they couldnt make themselves believe then i wanted no part of it. I have been so much happier ever since i finally stopped trying to believe in that. i actually read the bible and that is certainly the fastest way to become atheist. not just reading the passages the pastor tells you to read but actually reading it all, its very f*cked up to say the least. My mother asked me a few months ago and i told her i was atheist and she said she shouldve never let me marry my husband (also atheist) so i just dont talk to her about that subject bc she will not change her mind. Im so happy i finally gave it up though, it was such a relief not being scared and trying to believe and going to church to see all the hypocrits ( i live in alabama, so its a big deal to not go around here). so now i am a happy wife and have 3 awesome little boys. I will never look back and i will do my best to teach my children about all religions and let them make up their own mind about what they believe. I just want them to be happy and not grow up the way i did.

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